ING to cut 1,700 jobs, take $400 million charge

AMSTERDAM (AP) — ING Group NV, the Dutch bank, says it will cut 1,700 jobs, or 2.7 percent of its workforce, to cut costs.

An additional thousand jobs will be lost at external suppliers, the bank said in a statement Tuesday.

ING said the cuts are part of a move to expand its digital banking operations and jobs will be lost "at the headquarters of ING Retail Banking and in the back offices, call centers and IT departments."

The company will book a 320 million euro ($400 million) charge to cover costs, and expects to save 270 million euros annually from 2017.

Earlier this month, ING paid back the last of a 10 billion euro bailout it received from the Dutch state during the financial crisis of 2008.